Unbelievably today is the first birthday of this blog. On the 5th August 2012 readers were welcomed to Gluten Free by the Sea by this post, and how quickly a year has flown by! I set out with a mantra that if I could help even one person, then the work put into the blog would be worthwhile. I’d like to think I’ve achieved that aim and hopefully a few more along the way.
Before launching Gluten Free by the Sea I’d not done anything like this before. I’ve always been a person who has shied away for the limelight, so blogging and putting myself out there has been a completely alien concept to me really. However, I’ve really enjoyed writing about my experiences over the last year and the feedback from readers has been very rewarding to be honest. I didn’t think many people would be that interested in what I have to say, but a year on and I still find it utterly astonishing that there have been nearly 37,000 page views in that time. I’d just like to give a huge thank you to everyone who has read and shared my posts over the last twelve months.
Here’s a little round up of the last year on Gluten Free by the Sea, with the most viewed post in each month:
August 2012: Warning, Tetley Green Tea! My first month started strongly with a lot of interest in my round-up of some great gluten free eateries in London. However my month was disrupted by a mystery glutening which was eventually traced to Tetley Green Tea. My follow up communications and subsequent blog post caused some shock amongst the GF community and has now been viewed over 2500 times.
September 2012: My Coeliac Journey – One Year On. My story. I was terribly nervous about posting such a deeply personal post on Gluten Free by the Sea. There were things in here which I hadn’t even told my family. I found it emotional to write but at the same time very therapeutic. The comments that I received on this post made me so glad I had written it, fantastic feedback.
October 2012: Gluten Free Labelling Removed from Seabrook’s Crisps. Despite the fact that October saw the launch of the first of a glut of gluten free pizza launches from Pizza Hut, it is actually my post about Seabrook crisps removing gluten free labelling that is my most viewed post from the month. The post has now been viewed over 1100 times, and helped persuade Seabrook to promise to review the decision.
November 2012: Domino’s Gluten Free Pizza Review. Well gluten free pizza may have been outshone in October, but November was a different story. The launch of the Domino’s GF base really caught the imagination of the coeliac and gluten free community. To date this post is my most viewed with over 7500 hits!
December 2012: A Gluten Free Christmas. Perhaps unsurprisingly the most popular post in December was Christmas themed. This post was a round-up of tips for making sure coeliacs didn’t miss out on all the trimmings with Christmas dinner and all the other indulgences that make that time of the year.
January 2013: Living With Coeliac Disease. Many people had been asking me for tips and advice, so I thought it would be good to put together my guide for living with coeliac disease. This post was aimed at helping those newly diagnosed with coeliac disease and those struggling to adjust.
February 2013: Gluten Free Fish and Chips! Excitement ensued in the Plymouth gluten free community after my childhood chippy at Eggbuckland announced they were launching a monthly 100% gluten free night after receiving training from Coeliac UK.
March 2013: Seabrook’s to Restore Gluten Free Labelling. A second month of most views for a Seabrook post, and this time their announcement to make their entire range gluten free and restore GF labelling. A very proud moment for me and the coeliac community, showing what can be done if enough of us question companies.
April 2013: Simply Moorish. A quiet month on the blog, meant my review of local producer Simply Moorish was the most viewed post. I could just eat one of their muffins right now! It’s been great to build relationships like this with local businesses.
May 2013: Pizza Express Gluten Free Review. A lot of posts in May for Gut Feeling Week, including some great guest posts on diagnosis. Most viewed post in May though was a review of the new gluten free offerings form Pizza Express. Coeliacs really do like to read about GF pizza!
June 2013: St Maurice Bakery. Slightly surprisingly my review of a local bakery in Plymouth which makes gluten free pasties and cakes has out performed my review of the Allergy and Free From Show 2013. It’s actually quite satisfying to see something Plymouth focussed getting more views than something with more national appeal. The blog is Plymouth focussed after all, but naturally it is the posts with wider appeal that get many more views.
July 2013: ilumi Review. Most viewed post last month was my review of the gluten, nut and dairy free ready meals from ilumi. These meals are certainly causing waves amongst the gluten free world at the moment, and I can see why.
Overall it’s been a fantastic year. I’ve built up relationships with many local suppliers, producers and restaurants and also extended Gluten Free by the Sea by launching a complimentary Facebook page. Through Facebook I’ve also received many recommendations for eating out in Plymouth and the surrounding area. So I’d just like to give another huge thank you to everyone who has supported Gluten Free by the Sea this year, and I hope the next year is equally successful.
Kevin, Gluten Free by the Sea
Gluten Free By The Sea 